1
00:00:00,200 --> 00:00:02,520
I'm not planning to go early, 
but I'm ready to go when it 

2
00:00:02,520 --> 00:00:06,680
comes and I'm looking forward to
Beulah land. 

3
00:00:06,680 --> 00:00:09,200
The Bible uses that term Beulah 
Land for heaven. 

4
00:00:09,200 --> 00:00:10,960
It's not just a made-up word 
Bible. 

5
00:00:11,240 --> 00:00:15,080
Bible gives that word place 
where the Lord is and I'm 

6
00:00:15,080 --> 00:00:16,960
looking forward to forward to 
that day. 

7
00:00:16,960 --> 00:00:20,080
He can come back today that's 
that's that's already I am to go

8
00:00:20,480 --> 00:00:22,560
and I hope you are too. 
I'm looking forward to him 

9
00:00:22,560 --> 00:00:25,480
coming and however he takes me 
I'm ready to go. 

10
00:00:26,000 --> 00:00:29,490
But Philippians chapter one, I 
mentioned a little bit of a 

11
00:00:29,490 --> 00:00:32,090
little bit earlier in the 
service that you know, we we 

12
00:00:32,090 --> 00:00:38,370
really, we undervalue prayer. 
Prayer is such a powerful tool 

13
00:00:38,370 --> 00:00:41,290
that we have at our disposal and
we're not we're not using it 

14
00:00:41,290 --> 00:00:43,330
just as a tool. 
Prayer is a way that we 

15
00:00:43,330 --> 00:00:46,170
communicate with God. 
Prayer is the way that we we get

16
00:00:46,170 --> 00:00:49,410
a hold of God and we have that 
fellowship with God and and of 

17
00:00:49,410 --> 00:00:51,810
course God tells us that we 
should be coming to him with 

18
00:00:51,810 --> 00:00:54,970
things that we need and to bring
our requests unto him. 

19
00:00:54,970 --> 00:00:56,930
And the Bible is filled with 
versus on prayer. 

20
00:00:57,820 --> 00:01:01,140
But prayer is the way that we 
have that fellowship with God. 

21
00:01:01,140 --> 00:01:03,860
And if we're looking at it as 
it's, you know, this is the 

22
00:01:03,860 --> 00:01:06,900
magic lamp, this is the genie 
that I can rub to get a hold of 

23
00:01:06,900 --> 00:01:08,820
the things that I need. 
Then we're looking at prayer in 

24
00:01:08,820 --> 00:01:12,380
completely the wrong way. 
God is not some genie in the sky

25
00:01:12,380 --> 00:01:15,220
that's waiting to to drop things
out of heaven for us. 

26
00:01:15,380 --> 00:01:18,820
He is a real, powerful, 
omnipotent, omniscient God who 

27
00:01:18,820 --> 00:01:20,980
wants to have a relationship 
with us. 

28
00:01:21,440 --> 00:01:23,360
That's an amazing, amazing 
thing. 

29
00:01:23,360 --> 00:01:26,000
But we have that relationship 
with him, of course, through the

30
00:01:26,000 --> 00:01:28,000
word of God. 
But we have that relationship 

31
00:01:28,000 --> 00:01:30,960
with him in prayer. 
And Charles Spurgeon, Many of 

32
00:01:30,960 --> 00:01:32,920
you have at least heard his 
name. 

33
00:01:32,920 --> 00:01:35,000
One of the called the Prince of 
Preachers. 

34
00:01:35,000 --> 00:01:37,000
One of the one of the probably 
one of the greatest preachers 

35
00:01:37,000 --> 00:01:39,640
that that that in in modern 
times anyway. 

36
00:01:39,880 --> 00:01:42,200
But he said this. 
A man scarcely needs to be 

37
00:01:42,200 --> 00:01:46,040
reminded that he must breathe. 
It is essential to his very life

38
00:01:46,040 --> 00:01:49,040
that he should breathe, and it 
is essential to our spiritual 

39
00:01:49,040 --> 00:01:52,410
life that we should pray. 
I never thought it necessary to 

40
00:01:52,410 --> 00:01:54,730
prepare a discourse to exhort 
you to eat. 

41
00:01:55,330 --> 00:01:58,730
Neither ought it to be necessary
to exhort Christians to pray. 

42
00:01:59,090 --> 00:02:02,970
It should be to you an instinct 
of your new nature, as natural 

43
00:02:02,970 --> 00:02:06,010
to your spiritual being as a 
good appetite is to a man in 

44
00:02:06,010 --> 00:02:08,250
health. 
There should be a holy hunger 

45
00:02:08,370 --> 00:02:12,390
and thirst to pray. 
And the soul never pray so well 

46
00:02:12,390 --> 00:02:15,510
as when it is reminded not by 
the hour of the day or night, 

47
00:02:15,630 --> 00:02:18,430
but by its real needs. 
And when it resorts to its 

48
00:02:18,430 --> 00:02:20,950
places of private prayer, not 
because it thinks it all, but 

49
00:02:20,950 --> 00:02:25,110
because it feels that it must 
and shall and will go there, and

50
00:02:25,110 --> 00:02:29,990
is delighted at the privilege of
having communion with its God. 

51
00:02:30,230 --> 00:02:32,790
What a powerful statement. 
We can wrap it up right there 

52
00:02:32,790 --> 00:02:34,910
and say you've got everything 
you need to know about prayer 

53
00:02:34,910 --> 00:02:37,390
right there. 
That's what prayer is all about.

54
00:02:38,150 --> 00:02:42,030
But in Philippians chapter one, 
the purpose of prayer is to 

55
00:02:42,030 --> 00:02:45,990
better learn how to pray, to 
deepen our sense of prayer. 

56
00:02:46,710 --> 00:02:50,310
Honestly, it's in the day and 
age that we live in especially. 

57
00:02:50,310 --> 00:02:53,870
It's time that we move from 
these simplistic prayers, Some 

58
00:02:53,870 --> 00:02:57,470
surface prayers. 
You know, you go into a kids 

59
00:02:57,470 --> 00:03:00,030
class and a kids Sunday school 
class and you ask him for prayer

60
00:03:00,030 --> 00:03:03,070
requests and it's my friend fell
and scraped his knee, pray for 

61
00:03:03,070 --> 00:03:05,550
his knee, you know. 
There's a lot simplistic not, 

62
00:03:05,550 --> 00:03:07,750
Not that God doesn't want to 
hear those, especially from a 

63
00:03:07,750 --> 00:03:10,680
young person. 
But the more we mature in our 

64
00:03:10,680 --> 00:03:13,720
faith, and the more we grow in 
Jesus Christ, the more our 

65
00:03:13,720 --> 00:03:17,640
prayers have to move from those 
simplistic surface prayers to 

66
00:03:17,640 --> 00:03:21,040
praying more of what God wants 
us to pray, to pray according to

67
00:03:21,040 --> 00:03:26,040
the will of God. 
Philippians, may I remind you, 

68
00:03:26,600 --> 00:03:32,520
was written from a prison cell. 
Paul was in prison at Philippine

69
00:03:34,790 --> 00:03:37,110
Satan may have been able to keep
Paul from doing things that Paul

70
00:03:37,110 --> 00:03:39,390
did, starting churches, 
encouraging the churches, 

71
00:03:39,390 --> 00:03:41,910
training young men, preaching in
the synagogues because he was 

72
00:03:41,910 --> 00:03:45,590
bound there in prison. 
But he could not keep Paul from 

73
00:03:45,590 --> 00:03:48,510
praying. 
And in First Philippians chapter

74
00:03:48,510 --> 00:03:52,150
one, the first chapter there, 
verse #9, he says this and 

75
00:03:52,150 --> 00:03:54,350
really this whole thing. 
And in in the first part of 

76
00:03:54,350 --> 00:03:59,350
chapter one is just Paul giving 
them an introduction, talking to

77
00:03:59,350 --> 00:04:03,150
them, a salutation, if you will.
But he says in verse number six,

78
00:04:03,150 --> 00:04:05,990
being confident of this very 
thing, that he which hath begun 

79
00:04:05,990 --> 00:04:08,830
a good work in you, will perform
it into the day of Jesus Christ.

80
00:04:09,550 --> 00:04:11,310
And he goes on about a couple 
other things. 

81
00:04:11,310 --> 00:04:13,190
But then he says this in verse 
#9. 

82
00:04:13,190 --> 00:04:17,670
And this I pray that your love 
may abound yet more and more in 

83
00:04:17,670 --> 00:04:20,990
knowledge and in all judgment, 
That you may approve things that

84
00:04:20,990 --> 00:04:23,950
are excellent, that you may be 
sincere and without offense till

85
00:04:23,950 --> 00:04:26,230
the day of Christ being filled 
with the fruits of 

86
00:04:26,230 --> 00:04:29,630
righteousness, which are by 
Jesus Christ under the glory and

87
00:04:29,630 --> 00:04:33,360
praise of God, that is, not 
giving them advice, he says. 

88
00:04:33,360 --> 00:04:35,200
I'm praying for these things for
you. 

89
00:04:35,640 --> 00:04:38,760
If you pay attention to the 
punctuation in those verses. 

90
00:04:38,920 --> 00:04:42,800
Verse 9, verse 10, and verse 11 
are all a continuation of what 

91
00:04:42,800 --> 00:04:45,800
Paul says, that he is praying 
for those Philippians. 

92
00:04:45,800 --> 00:04:51,240
For and Paul locked up here in 
prison, bombarding the throne of

93
00:04:51,240 --> 00:04:55,120
grace, day and night, was far 
more dangerous to Satan than a 

94
00:04:55,120 --> 00:04:57,640
Paul who was free and cumbered 
about with the daily care of 

95
00:04:57,640 --> 00:05:00,460
the. 
Charles Burgeon again said it's 

96
00:05:00,460 --> 00:05:04,100
the burning lava of the soul 
that has a furnace within a very

97
00:05:04,100 --> 00:05:07,980
volcano of grief and sorrow. 
It is the burning lava of prayer

98
00:05:07,980 --> 00:05:10,940
that finds its way to God. 
No prayer ever reaches God's 

99
00:05:10,940 --> 00:05:13,220
heart, which does not come from 
our hearts. 

100
00:05:14,700 --> 00:05:17,460
And this morning I want to break
this passage down to see how 

101
00:05:17,460 --> 00:05:19,180
Paul was praying for the 
Philippian Church. 

102
00:05:19,380 --> 00:05:21,660
And if Paul was praying that for
the Philippian Church, then 

103
00:05:21,660 --> 00:05:23,340
that's the same thing that we 
ought to be praying for 

104
00:05:23,340 --> 00:05:26,200
ourselves, not selfish to pray 
for ourselves. 

105
00:05:26,200 --> 00:05:28,600
When it comes to having our 
relationship with Christ 

106
00:05:28,640 --> 00:05:33,240
strengthened, we need that we 
must come to him to ask him for 

107
00:05:33,240 --> 00:05:35,640
that strength. 
We must come to him to ask him 

108
00:05:35,640 --> 00:05:37,520
for that help. 
And certainly I'm not saying 

109
00:05:37,520 --> 00:05:40,400
that it's wrong to ask God to 
meet your daily needs in the 

110
00:05:40,400 --> 00:05:42,960
Lord's prayers. 
He very plainly says give us 

111
00:05:42,960 --> 00:05:45,880
this day Our Daily Bread. 
He's asking for his needs. 

112
00:05:46,520 --> 00:05:49,840
Jesus in the model prayer. 
Ask for his daily needs. 

113
00:05:49,840 --> 00:05:52,040
Nothing wrong with that. 
There's nothing wrong with 

114
00:05:52,040 --> 00:05:54,920
asking for those things. 
But we need to get to the point 

115
00:05:55,040 --> 00:05:57,800
where we are praying the deep 
prayers that God wants us to 

116
00:05:57,840 --> 00:06:00,240
pray according to the will of 
God. 

117
00:06:00,240 --> 00:06:02,280
And Paul says, this is what I'm 
praying for you. 

118
00:06:02,320 --> 00:06:05,320
And I think this is a great 
model for what we ought to be 

119
00:06:05,320 --> 00:06:07,680
praying for ourselves as well. 
So I want to talk about that 

120
00:06:07,680 --> 00:06:09,640
this morning for a little bit. 
Praying for me. 

121
00:06:10,080 --> 00:06:12,930
Praying for me. 
I want you to think about that. 

122
00:06:12,930 --> 00:06:15,010
I'm not saying that you should 
be praying for me, although it's

123
00:06:15,010 --> 00:06:16,770
helpful that you pray for your 
pastor. 

124
00:06:16,930 --> 00:06:19,690
But I'm saying, how should I be 
praying for me? 

125
00:06:20,050 --> 00:06:21,650
How should you be praying for 
you? 

126
00:06:21,650 --> 00:06:24,730
I want to break this passage 
down and look at 8 different 

127
00:06:24,730 --> 00:06:26,010
things. 
And I know that sounds like a 

128
00:06:26,010 --> 00:06:27,370
lot. 
Most of these points are pretty 

129
00:06:27,370 --> 00:06:29,210
short this morning. 
But I think it's so important 

130
00:06:29,210 --> 00:06:31,810
that we look at these things and
get an understanding from Paul's

131
00:06:31,810 --> 00:06:34,130
perspective to this Philippian 
Church of how we ought to be 

132
00:06:34,130 --> 00:06:36,010
praying for ourselves in this 
manner. 

133
00:06:36,010 --> 00:06:38,050
Let's pray, Father, we love you.
Can we thank you so much for 

134
00:06:38,050 --> 00:06:40,040
your goodness. 
Thank you for an opportunity. 

135
00:06:40,040 --> 00:06:42,080
We have to look into your word 
and God, I thank you that it's 

136
00:06:42,080 --> 00:06:45,320
so plain and so clear to us. 
And I pray that as we go through

137
00:06:45,320 --> 00:06:48,000
these things this morning and 
look at the the prayer that the 

138
00:06:48,000 --> 00:06:50,880
Apostle Paul prayed for them, 
that we'd look inside of 

139
00:06:50,880 --> 00:06:52,840
ourselves and make sure that 
we're praying the same thing for

140
00:06:52,840 --> 00:06:55,360
ourselves, That we would have 
the relationship with you that 

141
00:06:55,360 --> 00:06:57,720
you want to have with us. 
I would thank you for all that 

142
00:06:57,720 --> 00:06:59,400
you do. 
In Jesus name, Amen. 

143
00:07:00,240 --> 00:07:03,120
First thing I want you to see 
from this passage and maybe grab

144
00:07:03,120 --> 00:07:05,520
a bookmark or put a ribbon in 
there because we're going to 

145
00:07:05,520 --> 00:07:07,200
jump around to a couple of 
different places, but we're 

146
00:07:07,200 --> 00:07:08,960
going to come back to here 
because I want to. 

147
00:07:08,960 --> 00:07:11,280
I just want to take every single
one of these phrases that Paul 

148
00:07:11,280 --> 00:07:14,160
talks about because I think it's
a great, it's a great model. 

149
00:07:14,480 --> 00:07:17,000
The first thing is that I should
pray that my love would grow. 

150
00:07:17,000 --> 00:07:20,280
Paul says that in verse #9 and 
this I pray that your love may 

151
00:07:20,280 --> 00:07:24,600
abound. 
Yet more and more love is the 

152
00:07:24,600 --> 00:07:27,240
most remarkable thing in the 
universe, and the greatest fact 

153
00:07:27,780 --> 00:07:30,580
is that God is love. 
The Bible makes that very plain.

154
00:07:30,580 --> 00:07:32,980
And 1st John chapter 4 God is 
Love. 

155
00:07:32,980 --> 00:07:35,380
You see it on bumper stickers, 
you see it all over the place. 

156
00:07:35,620 --> 00:07:38,860
But that that phrase is very 
plainly given to us in the word 

157
00:07:38,860 --> 00:07:41,140
of God. 
And 1st John chapter 4 Let us 

158
00:07:41,140 --> 00:07:43,500
love one another. 
For love is of God and everyone 

159
00:07:43,500 --> 00:07:45,700
that loveth is born of God and 
knoweth God. 

160
00:07:45,860 --> 00:07:47,740
He that loveth not knoweth not 
God. 

161
00:07:47,740 --> 00:07:51,380
For God is love. 
That's the greatest fact. 

162
00:07:51,380 --> 00:07:53,940
No greater words have ever been 
written outside of the pages of 

163
00:07:53,940 --> 00:07:56,260
scripture in the words that were
penned by Anna Warner. 

164
00:07:56,900 --> 00:08:00,260
Jesus loves me. 
This I know, for the Bible tells

165
00:08:00,260 --> 00:08:01,740
me so. 
The greatest passage ever 

166
00:08:01,740 --> 00:08:04,540
written on love, I believe, is 
in First Corinthians chapter 13.

167
00:08:04,940 --> 00:08:08,140
Anytime I do a wedding, I use 
First Corinthians chapter 13, 

168
00:08:08,140 --> 00:08:11,060
The Greatest, The greatest 
passage on love. 

169
00:08:11,440 --> 00:08:13,240
Such a beautiful description of 
love. 

170
00:08:13,240 --> 00:08:17,000
The world's libraries contain 
volume after volume, fact and 

171
00:08:17,000 --> 00:08:20,000
fiction, warm biographies 
telling of love. 

172
00:08:20,680 --> 00:08:22,920
Love will drive people to do 
extraordinary things. 

173
00:08:22,920 --> 00:08:24,800
It'll drive them to 
extraordinary lengths. 

174
00:08:24,800 --> 00:08:28,200
It'll it'll make them do things 
that nothing else can think. 

175
00:08:28,240 --> 00:08:30,520
Think for example about a 
missionary that goes to a 

176
00:08:30,520 --> 00:08:34,480
foreign field and and gives his 
life on on that foreign field, 

177
00:08:34,480 --> 00:08:38,320
serving many times amongst 
deadly contagious diseases. 

178
00:08:38,720 --> 00:08:42,000
Missionary that I know that's in
Africa right now, just sent word

179
00:08:42,000 --> 00:08:45,080
back a couple a couple weeks ago
that he's contracted malaria, 

180
00:08:45,080 --> 00:08:47,040
that's a dangerous, dangerous 
disease. 

181
00:08:47,200 --> 00:08:49,680
He's there because he loves 
those people and he wants them 

182
00:08:49,680 --> 00:08:52,720
to know that Jesus Christ died 
in the cross for them, wants 

183
00:08:52,720 --> 00:08:54,600
them to know that they can be 
saved. 

184
00:08:55,200 --> 00:08:57,440
Love will drive people to do 
those things. 

185
00:08:57,520 --> 00:08:59,440
Think about even the things you 
may have done when you're 

186
00:08:59,440 --> 00:09:02,520
falling in love with your 
husband or your wife, the crazy 

187
00:09:02,520 --> 00:09:04,800
things that you did to try to 
win their affection. 

188
00:09:05,900 --> 00:09:07,780
Love. 
Love is a powerful thing. 

189
00:09:08,060 --> 00:09:11,020
But Paul prayed that they would 
love without limits, that their 

190
00:09:11,020 --> 00:09:14,500
love would abound. 
More and more turn over to Luke 

191
00:09:14,500 --> 00:09:18,180
chapter 10. 
See, Love is the support that 

192
00:09:18,180 --> 00:09:22,660
everything else hangs on. 
And we have a we have a warped 

193
00:09:22,660 --> 00:09:24,860
view of love a lot of times 
because of the way that 

194
00:09:24,860 --> 00:09:28,740
Hollywood portrays love. 
And that's one of the reasons 

195
00:09:28,740 --> 00:09:31,980
why I I can't stand Hollywood. 
I hate Hollywood with a passion.

196
00:09:32,380 --> 00:09:34,460
I don't watch their movies. 
I don't pay attention to what's 

197
00:09:34,460 --> 00:09:36,380
going on in Hollywood. 
I couldn't tell you who the main

198
00:09:36,380 --> 00:09:39,300
actors are right now at all 
because their their idea of love

199
00:09:39,300 --> 00:09:41,660
is so warped. 
Their idea of reality is so 

200
00:09:41,660 --> 00:09:46,180
warped but love as the Bible 
gives it to us in Luke chapter 

201
00:09:46,180 --> 00:09:48,220
10 of verse 27, he answering 
said. 

202
00:09:48,220 --> 00:09:52,180
Thou shalt love the Lord thy God
with all thy heart and with all 

203
00:09:52,180 --> 00:09:55,260
thy soul, and with all thy 
strength and with all thy mind 

204
00:09:56,020 --> 00:09:59,700
and thy neighbor as thyself. 
The stronger that love gets, the

205
00:09:59,700 --> 00:10:02,780
more you can hang there. 
It's just like a support that 

206
00:10:02,780 --> 00:10:05,340
you would hang a picture or a 
shelf or something like that on 

207
00:10:05,540 --> 00:10:07,380
if it's a weak. 
Little nail and you put it on 

208
00:10:07,380 --> 00:10:10,220
there, it's going to fall. 
But the bigger nail you use, the

209
00:10:10,220 --> 00:10:12,820
stronger support you use, the 
more you can hang on it and the 

210
00:10:12,820 --> 00:10:15,340
more your love grows and 
abounds. 

211
00:10:15,460 --> 00:10:18,020
More and more, the more you can 
hang on that. 

212
00:10:18,460 --> 00:10:21,460
The stronger it gets, the more 
the Lord can work through us. 

213
00:10:21,620 --> 00:10:25,700
There's a whole world full of 
lost and dying people who don't 

214
00:10:25,700 --> 00:10:27,580
know Jesus Christ as their 
Savior. 

215
00:10:28,460 --> 00:10:30,940
And if you don't love more and 
more, and if your love is not 

216
00:10:30,940 --> 00:10:33,260
abounding more and more than, 
you're not going to be affected 

217
00:10:33,260 --> 00:10:36,500
by watching them as they go 
about their daily business just 

218
00:10:36,660 --> 00:10:38,940
one after another, walking past 
you. 

219
00:10:39,700 --> 00:10:42,380
Knowing that the majority of 
them don't know that Jesus 

220
00:10:42,380 --> 00:10:45,260
Christ died in the cross to save
them from their sins or they 

221
00:10:45,260 --> 00:10:49,110
haven't accepted it. 
And most of those people that we

222
00:10:49,110 --> 00:10:53,350
passed every single day are on 
their way to hell without Christ

223
00:10:53,350 --> 00:10:58,270
for all of eternity. 
Love that abounds more and more 

224
00:10:58,270 --> 00:11:01,830
will help you to see those 
people in their lost condition 

225
00:11:01,830 --> 00:11:04,630
and have a love for them enough 
to go out and tell them about 

226
00:11:04,710 --> 00:11:06,870
Jesus Christ. 
Think about the people that you 

227
00:11:06,870 --> 00:11:09,190
work with. 
Oh, we have a great time. 

228
00:11:09,190 --> 00:11:11,990
We get along so well, we laugh. 
I love my job. 

229
00:11:12,230 --> 00:11:14,150
Do you love the people that you 
work with? 

230
00:11:14,870 --> 00:11:17,110
If you have not told them how 
they can be saved, then don't 

231
00:11:17,110 --> 00:11:20,950
claim that you love them. 
Because at the end of this life,

232
00:11:20,950 --> 00:11:23,510
if they don't know Jesus Christ 
as they're savior, they're going

233
00:11:23,510 --> 00:11:26,470
to stand before him and he's 
going to say depart from me, ye 

234
00:11:26,470 --> 00:11:29,390
curse into everlasting fire 
prepared for the devil and his 

235
00:11:29,390 --> 00:11:31,070
angels. 
And you're going to have to 

236
00:11:31,070 --> 00:11:33,630
watch as they turn around and 
look at you and say, Why didn't 

237
00:11:33,630 --> 00:11:36,870
you ever tell me You claim that 
you loved me? 

238
00:11:36,950 --> 00:11:39,870
You claim to be a Christian. 
You claim that you loved your 

239
00:11:39,870 --> 00:11:43,270
Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, 
but you never told me how I 

240
00:11:43,270 --> 00:11:45,190
could know. 
For sure that I could go to 

241
00:11:45,190 --> 00:11:49,830
heaven when I die. 
Love that abounds more and more 

242
00:11:50,190 --> 00:11:52,790
will tell your friends, will 
tell your neighbors, Will tell 

243
00:11:52,790 --> 00:11:55,550
your coworkers, Will tell your 
acquaintances, will tell your 

244
00:11:55,550 --> 00:11:58,750
relatives and other brothers in 
Christ who need to be loved with

245
00:11:58,750 --> 00:12:01,910
the love of Christ. 
I should pray that my love would

246
00:12:01,910 --> 00:12:06,390
grow, but back in Philippians 
chapter one, he says. 

247
00:12:06,430 --> 00:12:09,710
And this I pray that your love 
may abound more and more. 

248
00:12:09,710 --> 00:12:11,910
But he also continues that 
phrase. 

249
00:12:11,910 --> 00:12:16,210
He says in knowledge and in all 
judgment. 

250
00:12:16,650 --> 00:12:20,130
I should pray that I would know 
and discern what to love. 

251
00:12:21,250 --> 00:12:23,330
I should pray that I would know 
and discern what to love. 

252
00:12:23,330 --> 00:12:25,450
Love does not operate without 
law. 

253
00:12:25,850 --> 00:12:28,610
Love knows its limits and knows 
where to draw the line. 

254
00:12:28,890 --> 00:12:32,920
We can love all men, but we 
don't love all they do, right? 

255
00:12:32,920 --> 00:12:36,120
The the the wickedness that we 
see in the world today and and 

256
00:12:36,120 --> 00:12:39,440
how it just goes so completely 
against God and so completely 

257
00:12:39,440 --> 00:12:43,240
against the things that God 
commands us in His word. 

258
00:12:43,240 --> 00:12:45,600
It goes so completely against 
all of those things. 

259
00:12:45,760 --> 00:12:49,360
I can love men without loving 
the things that they do that I 

260
00:12:49,360 --> 00:12:52,680
should love. 
Those people love should not be 

261
00:12:52,680 --> 00:12:55,360
gullible though. 
Paul makes that very clear by 

262
00:12:55,360 --> 00:12:58,880
using very specific words. 
Here in verse #9 he uses the 

263
00:12:58,880 --> 00:13:01,760
word epignosis translated it as 
knowledge. 

264
00:13:02,140 --> 00:13:04,900
It means precise knowledge, 
knowledge that's created by 

265
00:13:04,900 --> 00:13:08,580
further experience, the result 
of learning or perceiving. 

266
00:13:09,180 --> 00:13:11,820
And then he uses the word as 
thesis, which is translated 

267
00:13:11,820 --> 00:13:13,940
judgment. 
It also means perception. 

268
00:13:14,220 --> 00:13:17,380
It basically means discernment. 
What he's saying is that your 

269
00:13:17,380 --> 00:13:21,540
love would abound more and more,
but with discernment, learn to 

270
00:13:21,540 --> 00:13:24,500
love the things that God loves. 
Learn to hate the things that 

271
00:13:24,500 --> 00:13:27,940
God hates. 
We ought to love more and more, 

272
00:13:28,140 --> 00:13:31,540
but our love cannot just be 
love, Everybody and everything. 

273
00:13:32,460 --> 00:13:35,140
We should love everybody, but we
don't have to love everything. 

274
00:13:35,660 --> 00:13:38,860
A parent who loves his child and
knowledge and in all judgment is

275
00:13:38,860 --> 00:13:40,980
not going to give him everything
he wants. 

276
00:13:41,420 --> 00:13:44,020
He's not going to withhold 
discipline when it's necessary. 

277
00:13:44,340 --> 00:13:47,260
Love sometimes is a hard thing, 
right? 

278
00:13:47,260 --> 00:13:50,140
And not loving the things that 
the world is doing is that 

279
00:13:50,140 --> 00:13:53,660
discernment that he's talking 
about, having that love that 

280
00:13:53,660 --> 00:13:55,860
abounds more and more. 
But in bounding, in knowledge, 

281
00:13:55,860 --> 00:13:58,740
and in judgment, we need to pray
that we would learn to love the 

282
00:13:58,740 --> 00:14:00,340
things that we're supposed to 
love. 

283
00:14:00,930 --> 00:14:02,570
Turn over to 1st John chapter 
two. 

284
00:14:03,370 --> 00:14:08,210
First John chapter two. 
First. 

285
00:14:08,210 --> 00:14:12,330
John is filled with talking 
about love. 

286
00:14:12,330 --> 00:14:16,130
Loving the right things, not 
hating the right things if you 

287
00:14:16,130 --> 00:14:18,850
will. 
But he says this in in first 

288
00:14:18,850 --> 00:14:24,410
John chapter 2 and verse #15. 
Love not the world. 

289
00:14:25,610 --> 00:14:28,010
He's not talking about the 
people in it, he's talking about

290
00:14:28,010 --> 00:14:31,680
the things that the world does. 
He's made it very, very clear 

291
00:14:31,680 --> 00:14:34,560
that we should love. 
He loves everybody, right? 

292
00:14:34,560 --> 00:14:38,120
God, so love the world. 
So he's not being contradictory 

293
00:14:38,120 --> 00:14:39,560
here. 
When he says love not the world,

294
00:14:39,560 --> 00:14:42,320
what's he talking about? 
He's saying the things that the 

295
00:14:42,320 --> 00:14:45,360
world does, the things that make
up the world, the things that 

296
00:14:45,480 --> 00:14:48,040
those who don't know Jesus 
Christ do. 

297
00:14:48,600 --> 00:14:51,960
He's saying love not the world, 
neither the things that are in 

298
00:14:51,960 --> 00:14:55,000
the world. 
If any man love the world, the 

299
00:14:55,000 --> 00:14:56,840
love of the Father is not in 
him. 

300
00:14:57,780 --> 00:15:00,460
That's a strong statement if you
actually sit there and think 

301
00:15:00,460 --> 00:15:05,060
about it for a second, If any 
man love the world, the love of 

302
00:15:05,060 --> 00:15:08,980
the father is not in him. 
I mentioned Hollywood. 

303
00:15:09,100 --> 00:15:12,540
That's the world you talk. 
You think about the music 

304
00:15:12,540 --> 00:15:17,020
industry, that's the world. 
You think about all the all the 

305
00:15:17,020 --> 00:15:19,620
wickedness that goes on outside 
of these doors. 

306
00:15:19,740 --> 00:15:22,590
That's the world. 
And if you become attached to 

307
00:15:22,590 --> 00:15:25,710
it, you become to the point that
you can't get rid of some of 

308
00:15:25,710 --> 00:15:27,710
those things. 
Listen, if God tells you better,

309
00:15:27,710 --> 00:15:29,470
get rid of those movies that 
you're watching. 

310
00:15:30,030 --> 00:15:32,710
And I can't get rid of them 
because I just, I I I'm such a 

311
00:15:32,830 --> 00:15:35,030
fan of theater. 
I'm such a fan of Hollywood. 

312
00:15:35,030 --> 00:15:38,110
I'm such a fan of movies. 
I I'm a soccer for a good story.

313
00:15:38,590 --> 00:15:40,670
Then you love the world and the 
Bible says the love of the 

314
00:15:40,670 --> 00:15:44,710
father is not in you. 
I can't get rid of that music. 

315
00:15:44,710 --> 00:15:46,390
I just, I love that music too 
much. 

316
00:15:46,390 --> 00:15:49,070
It's just it's it's who I am. 
It's a part of me. 

317
00:15:50,100 --> 00:15:54,540
That goes against the word of 
God, and most of it does, and 

318
00:15:54,540 --> 00:15:57,300
you can't get rid of it. 
Then you love the world and the 

319
00:15:57,300 --> 00:15:59,980
Bible says the love of the 
Father is not in you. 

320
00:16:00,100 --> 00:16:03,020
That's a strong statement, but 
it's the word of God. 

321
00:16:04,220 --> 00:16:08,660
God's love never violates His 
Holiness, and in first John he 

322
00:16:08,660 --> 00:16:11,220
tells them love, not the world. 
He had to say that because 

323
00:16:11,220 --> 00:16:14,180
people have a tendency to love 
without thought, without 

324
00:16:14,180 --> 00:16:16,140
yielding that decision to the 
Bible. 

325
00:16:16,510 --> 00:16:20,430
We need to pray that we would 
choose carefully what to love. 

326
00:16:21,270 --> 00:16:24,350
And I can promise you that if 
you go to God in prayer and you 

327
00:16:24,350 --> 00:16:27,110
ask him, and you beg him, should
I love this? 

328
00:16:27,230 --> 00:16:29,950
Should I not love this? 
He'll make it very clear. 

329
00:16:31,190 --> 00:16:32,990
Now here's the thing, people. 
Well, I don't know. 

330
00:16:32,990 --> 00:16:35,310
That's a Gray area. 
No, most of it's not. 

331
00:16:35,310 --> 00:16:37,590
Most of it's right here. 
You just haven't read it. 

332
00:16:38,550 --> 00:16:42,010
It's not a Gray area. 
He says, love this, don't love 

333
00:16:42,010 --> 00:16:43,530
that. 
There's there's no middle 

334
00:16:43,530 --> 00:16:45,130
ground. 
You love the Lord. 

335
00:16:45,130 --> 00:16:47,490
You got with all your heart, 
with all your soul, with all 

336
00:16:47,490 --> 00:16:48,810
your mind, with all your 
strength. 

337
00:16:48,890 --> 00:16:51,130
There's not going to be a lot of
room left for you to love the 

338
00:16:51,130 --> 00:16:55,010
things in the world. 
All means all. 

339
00:16:56,130 --> 00:16:59,730
And if you love the Lord with 
all your heart, strength, mind 

340
00:16:59,850 --> 00:17:04,410
will body everything, there's 
not a lot of room left. 

341
00:17:05,450 --> 00:17:07,930
There won't be a whole lot of. 
Place for those things to fit 

342
00:17:07,930 --> 00:17:10,280
in. 
Nobody ever loved us as God 

343
00:17:10,280 --> 00:17:12,240
loves us. 
Calvary is a witness to that. 

344
00:17:12,839 --> 00:17:16,960
But God's love never violates 
His Holiness, it never operates 

345
00:17:16,960 --> 00:17:20,400
in conflict with His omniscient 
wisdom, and it never ignores His

346
00:17:20,400 --> 00:17:24,319
own righteous laws. 
The fact that God is love and 

347
00:17:24,319 --> 00:17:27,000
longs for all men to be saved 
and to spend eternity within 

348
00:17:27,000 --> 00:17:30,360
heaven with him in heaven does 
not mean that there is no hell. 

349
00:17:31,300 --> 00:17:34,380
The Bible is very clear that 
those who don't accept Jesus 

350
00:17:34,380 --> 00:17:36,780
Christ as their savior are going
to spend an eternity in hell. 

351
00:17:36,780 --> 00:17:39,260
And the fact that hell exists 
does not mean that God stops 

352
00:17:39,260 --> 00:17:43,220
loving those who are there. 
Sin breaks God's law, and it 

353
00:17:43,220 --> 00:17:47,700
also breaks God's heart. 
God's not up in heaven rubbing 

354
00:17:47,700 --> 00:17:50,340
his hands together, hoping that 
people don't accept them so we 

355
00:17:50,340 --> 00:17:54,330
can send them to hell. 
Now he's begging us that all men

356
00:17:54,330 --> 00:17:56,970
everywhere would repent. 
That's what he's that's what he 

357
00:17:56,970 --> 00:17:59,810
says in the word of God. 
For God so loved the world, that

358
00:17:59,810 --> 00:18:02,690
whosoever believeth in him 
should not perish, but have 

359
00:18:02,690 --> 00:18:05,570
everlasting life for God. 
For God said not his Son into 

360
00:18:05,570 --> 00:18:08,010
the world to condemn the world, 
but that the world through him 

361
00:18:08,010 --> 00:18:10,890
might be saved. 
No, He loves the world. 

362
00:18:11,290 --> 00:18:15,330
He loves those who are in the 
world, but his His righteousness

363
00:18:15,330 --> 00:18:19,420
cannot violate His Holiness. 
We need to pray that we would 

364
00:18:19,420 --> 00:18:22,340
learn how to be good at making 
that choice between the two. 

365
00:18:22,340 --> 00:18:26,700
To become good at exercising 
that discernment, we need to 

366
00:18:26,700 --> 00:18:29,620
love the things that God loves, 
and we need to hate the things 

367
00:18:29,620 --> 00:18:33,420
that God hates. 
He says this back in Philippians

368
00:18:33,420 --> 00:18:36,020
chapter one. 
I should pray that my love would

369
00:18:36,020 --> 00:18:37,780
grow. 
I should pray that I would know 

370
00:18:37,780 --> 00:18:40,660
and discern what to love. 
But #3 I should pray that I 

371
00:18:40,660 --> 00:18:42,620
would. 
Learn how to love, he says. 

372
00:18:42,620 --> 00:18:45,740
And that your love may abound. 
So if it's supposed to grow, it 

373
00:18:45,740 --> 00:18:48,580
would help if we knew how to do 
it right. 

374
00:18:48,580 --> 00:18:52,020
God wants us to grasp the 
principles that we find in First

375
00:18:52,020 --> 00:18:56,220
John chapter four of God's love 
flowing through us. 

376
00:18:56,420 --> 00:19:00,500
That's how we love #4, Paul 
says. 

377
00:19:00,500 --> 00:19:03,900
I should pray that I would 
approve things that are not just

378
00:19:03,900 --> 00:19:06,260
good. 
But excellent. 

379
00:19:07,420 --> 00:19:11,060
You think that's hard, but I was
just talking about get rid of 

380
00:19:11,060 --> 00:19:14,140
all those other things. 
Those are good things, but is 

381
00:19:14,140 --> 00:19:16,900
that? 
Excellent, he says. 

382
00:19:17,280 --> 00:19:20,240
He says in verse #9 and this I 
pray that your love may have 

383
00:19:20,240 --> 00:19:22,720
bound yet more and more in 
knowledge and in all judgment, 

384
00:19:22,720 --> 00:19:25,880
that you may approve things that
are excellent. 

385
00:19:25,880 --> 00:19:29,360
There were lots of people that I
could have dated in college. 

386
00:19:29,760 --> 00:19:31,360
I didn't. 
I didn't actually meet my wife 

387
00:19:31,360 --> 00:19:34,680
until I was out of college. 
It was hard graduating from 

388
00:19:34,680 --> 00:19:36,960
college and not knowing who 
you're going to marry, right? 

389
00:19:36,960 --> 00:19:39,240
Because a lot of people 
typically tend to find their 

390
00:19:39,240 --> 00:19:41,640
spouse, especially if you're in 
a Bible college, you typically 

391
00:19:41,640 --> 00:19:43,280
tend to find your spouse in 
college. 

392
00:19:43,280 --> 00:19:45,200
Doesn't doesn't always happen 
that way, and it certainly 

393
00:19:45,200 --> 00:19:48,400
didn't happen that way for me. 
But I'm not. 

394
00:19:48,400 --> 00:19:50,080
I'm not saying that all the 
girls were no good. 

395
00:19:50,080 --> 00:19:51,800
There were plenty of good girls 
that were there. 

396
00:19:51,800 --> 00:19:54,040
But I got a wife who was 
excellent because I was not 

397
00:19:54,040 --> 00:19:57,280
willing to settle for just good,
and I'm thankful for that. 

398
00:19:57,280 --> 00:20:00,000
God brought my wife along 
because he knew exactly who I 

399
00:20:00,000 --> 00:20:02,160
was going to need. 
And this is exactly what God 

400
00:20:02,160 --> 00:20:04,640
expects us to do in our daily 
lives. 

401
00:20:05,080 --> 00:20:07,080
Are there good things out there?
Sure. 

402
00:20:07,680 --> 00:20:10,400
But sometimes those good things 
get in the way of the best 

403
00:20:10,400 --> 00:20:12,960
things. 
The word translated approve. 

404
00:20:12,960 --> 00:20:16,280
He says that I'm that you may 
approve things that are. 

405
00:20:16,740 --> 00:20:19,060
Excellent. 
It literally means to a say or 

406
00:20:19,060 --> 00:20:23,060
to examine or to test. 
It's used in reference to 

407
00:20:23,060 --> 00:20:26,540
testing metals for purity. 
Paul's ideas that we should 

408
00:20:26,540 --> 00:20:30,100
carefully examine things and 
approve them only if they pass 

409
00:20:30,100 --> 00:20:33,940
that test, or to examine things 
that that differ and see if they

410
00:20:33,940 --> 00:20:36,580
pass the test. 
Matters of doctrine are among 

411
00:20:36,580 --> 00:20:39,380
things that differ. 
When you hear something that, 

412
00:20:39,420 --> 00:20:41,340
wow, that's new. 
I've never heard that before. 

413
00:20:41,500 --> 00:20:44,870
Tested against the word of God. 
Make sure it passes that test. 

414
00:20:44,870 --> 00:20:47,790
Make sure it stands up to the 
purity test, if you will. 

415
00:20:47,790 --> 00:20:50,270
Paul was aware of the false 
doctrines that were circulating 

416
00:20:50,270 --> 00:20:52,990
in Philippi that were 
circulating in colossi, and he 

417
00:20:52,990 --> 00:20:55,950
exposed those errors in the 
letters that he wrote to the 

418
00:20:55,950 --> 00:20:59,030
churches. 
But today's cultists have their 

419
00:20:59,030 --> 00:21:02,710
Christs, if you will, but 
they're to be distinguished from

420
00:21:02,710 --> 00:21:05,350
our Lord Jesus Christ. 
Were to examine and. 

421
00:21:05,350 --> 00:21:09,420
Prove things that differ. 
We should we should discriminate

422
00:21:09,420 --> 00:21:11,940
not just between the good and 
the bad, the right and the 

423
00:21:11,940 --> 00:21:15,340
wrong, the true and the false, 
but also between the good and 

424
00:21:15,340 --> 00:21:18,860
the best. 
Good is good, but if you're good

425
00:21:18,860 --> 00:21:21,540
could be better, then you're 
falling short of where you 

426
00:21:21,540 --> 00:21:22,940
should be at. 
And if you're better, could be 

427
00:21:22,940 --> 00:21:25,900
best, and you're falling short 
of where you could be at, you're

428
00:21:25,900 --> 00:21:29,460
good. 
Is is is a good first step, but 

429
00:21:29,460 --> 00:21:32,180
you're good should be excellent.
He's saying that you should 

430
00:21:32,180 --> 00:21:34,700
approve those things that are 
excellent, and honestly, many 

431
00:21:34,700 --> 00:21:37,260
times the good can be the enemy 
of the best. 

432
00:21:38,100 --> 00:21:40,860
You you, you get to a point in 
your life where you you feel 

433
00:21:40,860 --> 00:21:43,060
like you're making some good 
steps and you feel like you're 

434
00:21:43,060 --> 00:21:45,740
making good progress and you're 
you're making decisions for 

435
00:21:45,740 --> 00:21:48,460
Christ and you're getting rid of
some of the things that you know

436
00:21:48,460 --> 00:21:50,580
are holding your back. 
And you're adding some of the 

437
00:21:50,580 --> 00:21:52,580
things that you know are helping
you move forward. 

438
00:21:52,580 --> 00:21:54,700
And you start to get to the 
point where you say, you know 

439
00:21:54,700 --> 00:21:56,900
what, look where I was and look 
where I am now. 

440
00:21:56,900 --> 00:21:59,980
This is pretty good, but is it 
excellent? 

441
00:22:00,860 --> 00:22:03,860
Are there more things that God 
is trying to work on your heart 

442
00:22:03,860 --> 00:22:05,780
about that you just won't let 
go? 

443
00:22:06,590 --> 00:22:08,910
Are there more things that God 
is working on your heart about 

444
00:22:08,910 --> 00:22:11,270
that you just won't add in? 
I just. 

445
00:22:11,270 --> 00:22:13,310
I can't do that. 
It requires too much time. 

446
00:22:13,310 --> 00:22:15,870
That requires too much effort. 
That's too difficult. 

447
00:22:15,990 --> 00:22:18,990
I'll get to the good. 
I'm not willing to go to the 

448
00:22:18,990 --> 00:22:20,030
best. 
No. 

449
00:22:20,030 --> 00:22:23,070
He says that I may approve 
things that are excellent. 

450
00:22:23,910 --> 00:22:27,430
It's good to read the Bible, but
it can become the enemy. 

451
00:22:27,430 --> 00:22:32,190
If God wants us to study it and 
learn it, and rightly divide 

452
00:22:32,190 --> 00:22:34,950
that word of truth, it's good to
to pray at dinner. 

453
00:22:35,430 --> 00:22:37,750
But when God wants us to go 
deeper with him and have that 

454
00:22:37,750 --> 00:22:42,070
prayer time and and get in the 
closet with him, find time where

455
00:22:42,070 --> 00:22:44,590
we get on our knees and just 
talk to him and have that 

456
00:22:44,590 --> 00:22:48,150
fellowship with him and develop 
a relationship with him, then 

457
00:22:48,150 --> 00:22:50,710
having that prayer at dinner can
be an enemy of the best. 

458
00:22:51,030 --> 00:22:53,430
It's good you ought to pray at 
dinner, but if that's the only 

459
00:22:53,430 --> 00:22:56,710
prayer that you're doing, you're
missing out on God's best in 

460
00:22:56,710 --> 00:22:59,200
your prayer life. 
There's a lot of things that are

461
00:22:59,200 --> 00:23:02,080
good, But God doesn't just want 
us to approve the good, He wants

462
00:23:02,080 --> 00:23:05,320
us to approve and do. 
The things that are excellent. 

463
00:23:06,960 --> 00:23:08,840
Are you doing things that are 
excellent? 

464
00:23:09,520 --> 00:23:13,280
You ought to pray that God would
help you to approve things that 

465
00:23:13,280 --> 00:23:17,880
are not just good but excellent.
#5 He says this back in 

466
00:23:17,880 --> 00:23:21,560
Philippians chapter one that you
may approve things that are 

467
00:23:21,560 --> 00:23:23,600
excellent. 
Verse 10 that you may. 

468
00:23:23,600 --> 00:23:26,800
Be sincere. 
I should pray that I would be 

469
00:23:26,800 --> 00:23:30,320
sincere. 
And genuine and not a fake. 

470
00:23:31,800 --> 00:23:35,080
The hypocrisy of Christians is 
the single biggest excuse that 

471
00:23:35,080 --> 00:23:37,640
people in the world use for why 
they will not become a 

472
00:23:37,640 --> 00:23:41,600
Christian. 
Now it's a bad excuse, but they 

473
00:23:41,600 --> 00:23:44,080
have a point. 
A lot of Christians are 

474
00:23:44,080 --> 00:23:46,880
hypocrites. 
They pretend to be one thing. 

475
00:23:47,320 --> 00:23:49,400
They they see those Christians 
that go to church. 

476
00:23:49,400 --> 00:23:50,480
They talk about God. 
Do they? 

477
00:23:50,520 --> 00:23:52,800
They pretend to be a Christian 
at certain times, and then they 

478
00:23:52,800 --> 00:23:54,800
act completely opposite at other
times. 

479
00:23:55,560 --> 00:23:57,560
And by the way, that's That's 
not just when people are 

480
00:23:57,560 --> 00:24:00,320
watching you. 
Who you are when nobody's 

481
00:24:00,320 --> 00:24:04,040
watching is who you really are. 
Who you are when everybody is 

482
00:24:04,040 --> 00:24:06,040
watching is who you want people 
to think you are. 

483
00:24:07,240 --> 00:24:10,760
Who you are in the dark. 
Who you are in your private 

484
00:24:10,760 --> 00:24:12,760
time. 
Who you are when you are alone. 

485
00:24:13,520 --> 00:24:18,000
Is the real you. 
God sees that. 

486
00:24:19,000 --> 00:24:21,200
And you know what? 
Just about everybody else does, 

487
00:24:21,200 --> 00:24:24,400
too. 
The world sees and they've 

488
00:24:24,480 --> 00:24:27,080
learned to despise that. 
They know how Christians are 

489
00:24:27,080 --> 00:24:29,320
supposed to act. 
They expect us to act like 

490
00:24:29,320 --> 00:24:31,760
Christians. 
When Christians go out into the 

491
00:24:31,760 --> 00:24:34,680
world and don't act like 
Christians, they see the 

492
00:24:34,680 --> 00:24:36,960
hypocrisy. 
Now, they may be doing the exact

493
00:24:36,960 --> 00:24:38,880
same thing that that Christian 
is doing, but they know that 

494
00:24:38,880 --> 00:24:40,600
that Christian is not supposed 
to be doing that. 

495
00:24:41,600 --> 00:24:43,240
And they just a bunch of 
hypocrites. 

496
00:24:43,240 --> 00:24:44,920
That's the reason why I don't 
become a Christian. 

497
00:24:45,400 --> 00:24:47,400
I was riding with an officer and
you know that I'm a chaplain for

498
00:24:47,400 --> 00:24:48,920
the police. 
I ride along with them quite a 

499
00:24:48,920 --> 00:24:50,560
bit. 
And I was talking. 

500
00:24:50,560 --> 00:24:51,960
He was. 
I was talking with him and. 

501
00:24:52,260 --> 00:24:54,500
About how much he couldn't stand
organized religion. 

502
00:24:54,540 --> 00:24:56,980
And honestly, I can't stand 
organized religion either. 

503
00:24:58,180 --> 00:25:02,420
Religion is is, is a hindrance 
to people coming to know Jesus 

504
00:25:02,420 --> 00:25:05,340
Christ is their savior. 
It's not about religion, it's 

505
00:25:05,340 --> 00:25:07,220
about a relationship with Jesus 
Christ. 

506
00:25:07,700 --> 00:25:10,340
But he was talking about all 
churches and everything else and

507
00:25:10,340 --> 00:25:12,780
he said that he was so turned 
off by the other officers in the

508
00:25:12,780 --> 00:25:15,380
department who claimed to be 
Christians who preached about 

509
00:25:15,380 --> 00:25:16,740
other people not doing what they
should. 

510
00:25:16,740 --> 00:25:19,260
And and one in particular who 
was the loudest one that he was 

511
00:25:19,260 --> 00:25:22,100
talking about and and and had a 
baby out of wedlock. 

512
00:25:22,100 --> 00:25:24,460
He was not known for being 
diligent on the job a lot of 

513
00:25:24,460 --> 00:25:26,300
other things. 
And he said I'm I'm so tired of 

514
00:25:26,300 --> 00:25:27,580
it. 
I'm so tired of the organized 

515
00:25:27,580 --> 00:25:29,900
religion all these guys in the 
department that that claimed to 

516
00:25:29,900 --> 00:25:32,260
be Christians and honestly most 
of them are worse than everybody

517
00:25:32,260 --> 00:25:33,780
else who doesn't even claim to 
be a Christian. 

518
00:25:34,700 --> 00:25:37,100
This offered officer mentioned 
that things like that are. 

519
00:25:37,260 --> 00:25:39,660
Keeps him away from church and 
religion. 

520
00:25:39,780 --> 00:25:43,180
It's the hypocrisy. 
If you're going to claim to be a

521
00:25:43,180 --> 00:25:45,700
little Christ, which is what 
Christian means, then be a 

522
00:25:45,700 --> 00:25:49,090
little Christ. 
Jesus Christ is not going to 

523
00:25:49,090 --> 00:25:52,770
involve himself in those things.
Christian, when that, when that 

524
00:25:52,770 --> 00:25:56,170
term was was was first given to 
the Christians, it was meant to 

525
00:25:56,170 --> 00:25:58,890
be a derogatory term. 
Oh, a bunch of little Christ 

526
00:25:58,890 --> 00:26:01,210
running around. 
But what what better thing could

527
00:26:01,210 --> 00:26:02,730
you say about somebody than 
that? 

528
00:26:02,730 --> 00:26:07,210
You're a little Christ, right? 
But but are you worthy of that 

529
00:26:07,210 --> 00:26:08,090
term? 
Christian? 

530
00:26:08,370 --> 00:26:10,730
You claim to be a Christian, but
are you? 

531
00:26:11,290 --> 00:26:14,290
You know Jesus Christ is your 
savior, then you're one of his. 

532
00:26:14,450 --> 00:26:18,080
But are you a little Christ? 
Are you a a miniature 

533
00:26:18,080 --> 00:26:20,120
representation of him on this 
earth? 

534
00:26:20,680 --> 00:26:24,200
That's what we ought to be. 
We have to pray that we would be

535
00:26:24,200 --> 00:26:28,040
sincere. 
Honestly, parents, hypocrisy is 

536
00:26:28,040 --> 00:26:30,560
one of the single biggest 
reasons why young people leave 

537
00:26:30,560 --> 00:26:33,920
the church when they grow up. 
When I say the church, I'm not 

538
00:26:33,920 --> 00:26:36,160
talking about this organized 
religion and everything else. 

539
00:26:36,320 --> 00:26:39,200
We want our kids to grow up and 
have a relationship with Jesus 

540
00:26:39,200 --> 00:26:41,440
Christ, regardless of where 
they're where they end up in 

541
00:26:41,440 --> 00:26:44,610
church or not or or or what 
church they end up in. 

542
00:26:44,610 --> 00:26:46,650
I should say, if you have a 
relationship with Jesus Christ, 

543
00:26:46,650 --> 00:26:48,610
you're going to be in church 
because you want to be where he 

544
00:26:48,610 --> 00:26:50,290
is. 
That. 

545
00:26:50,290 --> 00:26:53,090
But they see how their parents 
act at church on Sunday, and 

546
00:26:53,090 --> 00:26:55,170
then they see how they're a 
totally different person on 

547
00:26:55,170 --> 00:26:58,010
Monday and Tuesday and Wednesday
and Thursday and Friday and 

548
00:26:58,010 --> 00:27:01,810
Saturday. 
They see how they talk around 

549
00:27:01,810 --> 00:27:04,850
those who expect them to talk. 
The right way and then how they 

550
00:27:04,850 --> 00:27:07,330
act when they're around people 
who don't really care. 

551
00:27:08,570 --> 00:27:11,330
We have to pray that we would 
not be sneaky, that we would not

552
00:27:11,330 --> 00:27:14,650
put up a front, that we would 
not be two faced Paul. 

553
00:27:14,890 --> 00:27:17,130
I mean, James talks about that 
and James Sheppard, one of her 

554
00:27:17,130 --> 00:27:21,090
say a double minded man is 
unstable in all his ways. 

555
00:27:21,210 --> 00:27:24,130
What's a double minded man? 
It's a hypocrite. 

556
00:27:24,450 --> 00:27:26,770
It's somebody who pretends to be
one thing when he's around 

557
00:27:26,770 --> 00:27:29,530
people who expect him to be this
way, and when he's something 

558
00:27:29,530 --> 00:27:32,730
completely different when he's 
around people who who don't care

559
00:27:32,930 --> 00:27:34,730
or who don't expect anything out
of him. 

560
00:27:36,080 --> 00:27:38,240
I don't know the note. 
One of the reasons churches are 

561
00:27:38,240 --> 00:27:41,080
not effective for God is because
the pastors are hypocrites. 

562
00:27:42,480 --> 00:27:45,200
There's so many pastors out 
there that I I see things on 

563
00:27:45,200 --> 00:27:48,200
Facebook or or or, you know, 
reading an article or different 

564
00:27:48,200 --> 00:27:50,440
things about that. 
The things that these pastors 

565
00:27:50,440 --> 00:27:52,760
are doing, why would anybody 
want to follow what they're 

566
00:27:52,760 --> 00:27:55,240
preaching? 
They pretend to be one thing in 

567
00:27:55,240 --> 00:27:57,360
front of the people, but then 
they live a completely different

568
00:27:57,360 --> 00:28:01,000
life outside the pulpit. 
I'm not claiming to be perfect 

569
00:28:01,000 --> 00:28:03,680
by any stretch, but I can tell 
you if I'm asking you to jump a 

570
00:28:03,680 --> 00:28:05,600
foot, I'm doing my best to jump 
3. 

571
00:28:06,630 --> 00:28:10,350
Because I have to be what you 
need me to be in order for me to

572
00:28:10,350 --> 00:28:13,950
lead you spiritually. 
And if you're in a church where 

573
00:28:13,950 --> 00:28:16,910
you cannot get 100% behind the 
pastor because, well, I don't 

574
00:28:16,910 --> 00:28:19,750
know if I really agree with what
he does with that stuff, then 

575
00:28:19,750 --> 00:28:22,670
get out of the church and get in
a place where you can get behind

576
00:28:22,670 --> 00:28:25,550
what the pastor's doing and get 
behind where the pastor's going 

577
00:28:25,550 --> 00:28:28,550
and where you can be led because
he's following the word of God. 

578
00:28:28,950 --> 00:28:31,710
Paul says, Follow me as I follow
Christ. 

579
00:28:32,430 --> 00:28:34,830
That's my that. 
That's a huge responsibility on 

580
00:28:34,830 --> 00:28:36,750
my shoulders. 
But I have to do it. 

581
00:28:37,830 --> 00:28:40,230
If I'm not doing it, how can I 
expect you to do it? 

582
00:28:41,190 --> 00:28:43,630
But if I'm doing it, then I 
expect you to do it too. 

583
00:28:44,190 --> 00:28:46,350
I'm not asking you to do 
something I'm not trying to do 

584
00:28:46,350 --> 00:28:49,190
myself. 
You can come look at my DVD 

585
00:28:49,190 --> 00:28:51,150
collection. 
It take you about 10 seconds to 

586
00:28:51,150 --> 00:28:53,510
get through it. 
I don't have, I don't have a 

587
00:28:53,510 --> 00:28:56,630
house full of movies. 
I don't have a house full of TV 

588
00:28:56,630 --> 00:28:59,790
programs and all that stuff. 
I don't have books that I'd be 

589
00:28:59,790 --> 00:29:02,630
ashamed for you to look at. 
I don't have music that I don't 

590
00:29:02,630 --> 00:29:06,310
want you to hear, but that's how
we have to be if we're going to 

591
00:29:06,310 --> 00:29:10,590
be a Christian in this world and
if we're going to be an example 

592
00:29:10,590 --> 00:29:14,470
to the people that were around. 
If you have to constantly be 

593
00:29:14,470 --> 00:29:16,790
sneaking around so your kids 
don't hear the things that 

594
00:29:16,790 --> 00:29:19,790
you're doing, they don't see the
things that you're watching. 

595
00:29:19,790 --> 00:29:22,510
If you have to sneak around to 
do those things, then that's 

596
00:29:22,510 --> 00:29:24,790
your first clue that you're 
probably a hypocrite. 

597
00:29:27,670 --> 00:29:29,710
And I know that's not what 
people like to hear today. 

598
00:29:30,760 --> 00:29:33,640
But he says that you may be 
sincere. 

599
00:29:34,240 --> 00:29:40,000
He's saying pray and ask God to 
help you be 100% what Christ 

600
00:29:40,000 --> 00:29:42,640
wants you to be 100% of the 
time. 

601
00:29:43,040 --> 00:29:44,520
That's what it means to be 
sincere. 

602
00:29:44,520 --> 00:29:51,160
As a Christian, I should pray 
that I would be sincere. 

603
00:29:51,600 --> 00:29:55,920
Number six, he says. 
That you may be sincere and 

604
00:29:56,560 --> 00:29:59,490
without offense. 
I should pray that I would not 

605
00:29:59,490 --> 00:30:02,810
be an offense to others. 
People take offense more easily 

606
00:30:02,810 --> 00:30:06,650
than they ever have before. 
I don't want to live paranoid, 

607
00:30:06,650 --> 00:30:08,890
but I don't want to offend 
somebody unless I have to. 

608
00:30:09,690 --> 00:30:12,450
And by by have to, I mean if the
word of God offends somebody, 

609
00:30:12,450 --> 00:30:16,010
still be it. 
If I'm preaching the Bible and 

610
00:30:16,010 --> 00:30:18,570
that offends you, I don't want 
to offend you. 

611
00:30:18,570 --> 00:30:21,090
But it's the word of God that's 
offending you, not me. 

612
00:30:21,730 --> 00:30:24,050
And if that's offensive to you, 
then so be it. 

613
00:30:25,690 --> 00:30:28,930
I have to pray that my words, 
though, and my actions would not

614
00:30:28,930 --> 00:30:33,370
be an offense to others. 
So many people are turned off 

615
00:30:33,370 --> 00:30:36,730
toward following Christ because 
they were offended by somebody 

616
00:30:36,730 --> 00:30:40,650
who claimed to be a Christian. 
And we have to speak the truth. 

617
00:30:41,010 --> 00:30:42,370
We have to speak the truth in 
love. 

618
00:30:43,170 --> 00:30:44,690
We have to give it to him the 
way that it is. 

619
00:30:44,690 --> 00:30:47,690
But God help me, if I say 
something or do something that 

620
00:30:47,690 --> 00:30:51,570
would cause someone to turn away
from the gospel, I have to pray 

621
00:30:51,570 --> 00:30:54,070
that I would grow. 
In thoughtfulness and maturity, 

622
00:30:54,070 --> 00:30:57,750
in fact turn over to 1st 
Corinthians chapter 10, First 

623
00:30:57,750 --> 00:31:02,950
Corinthians chapter 10. 
And Paul obviously wrote the 

624
00:31:02,950 --> 00:31:06,590
book of First Corinthians and he
had a lot of things that needed 

625
00:31:06,590 --> 00:31:08,150
to be corrected there in that 
church. 

626
00:31:08,150 --> 00:31:11,150
And and boy you want to you want
to hear somebody who who gave it

627
00:31:11,150 --> 00:31:15,030
to him like it is read. 
Read Paul's letters, Paul. 

628
00:31:15,310 --> 00:31:17,390
And he said that many times. 
I'm not trying to be an offense 

629
00:31:17,390 --> 00:31:18,790
to you, but this is the way it 
is. 

630
00:31:18,790 --> 00:31:20,870
And if you're not doing it, then
it's going to be an offense to 

631
00:31:20,870 --> 00:31:24,410
you, right? 
If I mean think about it. 

632
00:31:24,410 --> 00:31:27,570
If if you, you know if if you're
sitting there drinking Kool-aid 

633
00:31:27,570 --> 00:31:29,690
and I'm preaching about drinking
Kool-aid, you're going to be 

634
00:31:29,690 --> 00:31:32,330
offended if if you're doing it 
right, if you're sitting there. 

635
00:31:32,330 --> 00:31:33,890
Drinking water. 
You can be like, yeah, everybody

636
00:31:33,890 --> 00:31:35,370
drinking kool-aid. 
You're not going to be offended 

637
00:31:35,370 --> 00:31:38,410
by it, right? 
But but that's, that's, that's 

638
00:31:38,410 --> 00:31:40,890
what he's talking about. 
If you're doing the things that 

639
00:31:40,890 --> 00:31:43,850
the Bible teaches and preaches 
against, then you're going to be

640
00:31:43,850 --> 00:31:46,170
offended. 
On the other hand, if you're 

641
00:31:46,170 --> 00:31:49,210
doing those things that that 
that the Bible, if you're not 

642
00:31:49,210 --> 00:31:50,810
doing those things that the 
Bible teaches and preaches. 

643
00:31:50,810 --> 00:31:51,930
Against You're not going to be 
offended. 

644
00:31:52,430 --> 00:31:54,390
It's not the way I said it. 
It's the way the Bible said it, 

645
00:31:54,870 --> 00:31:56,110
right? 
Paul says this in First 

646
00:31:56,110 --> 00:31:57,830
Corinthians chapter 10 and verse
32. 

647
00:31:58,550 --> 00:32:05,070
Give none offense neither to the
Jews, nor to the Gentiles, nor 

648
00:32:05,070 --> 00:32:10,270
to the Church of God, even as I.
Please all men in all things not

649
00:32:10,270 --> 00:32:13,350
seeking mine own prophet, but 
the prophet of many that they 

650
00:32:13,350 --> 00:32:16,270
may be saved. 
What was Paul saying there? 

651
00:32:16,720 --> 00:32:19,200
He was saying I need to give him
the truth, but I can make the 

652
00:32:19,200 --> 00:32:21,720
truth go down a little bit 
easier by the way that I give 

653
00:32:21,720 --> 00:32:25,280
him the truth, right? 
By the way that I I I handle 

654
00:32:25,280 --> 00:32:27,440
myself by the way that I treat 
other people. 

655
00:32:27,560 --> 00:32:29,560
I'm not trying to be an offense 
to somebody. 

656
00:32:29,560 --> 00:32:33,080
And I need to pray, as Paul says
here, that I would not be an 

657
00:32:33,080 --> 00:32:36,320
offense to other people. 
I want them to get saved. 

658
00:32:36,800 --> 00:32:40,920
I want them to want Christ, if 
I'm an offense to them because 

659
00:32:40,920 --> 00:32:43,360
I'm just the way that I am and 
that's just what you're going to

660
00:32:43,360 --> 00:32:45,480
put up with. 
If that's you, this is just me. 

661
00:32:45,960 --> 00:32:48,440
And if you want me, then you got
to take everything that comes 

662
00:32:48,440 --> 00:32:50,720
with me. 
No, learn how to not be an 

663
00:32:50,720 --> 00:32:53,880
offense to other people. 
I'm trying to win people to 

664
00:32:53,880 --> 00:32:56,360
Christ. 
I'm trying to help them grow in 

665
00:32:56,360 --> 00:32:58,960
their relationship to Christ. 
And if I'm an offense to people,

666
00:32:59,080 --> 00:33:01,200
I'm a. 
Hindrance to that, so I need to 

667
00:33:01,200 --> 00:33:04,600
pray that I wouldn't be an 
offense to others #7 back in 

668
00:33:04,600 --> 00:33:09,760
Philippians chapter one, he says
in verse #11, being filled with 

669
00:33:09,760 --> 00:33:12,960
the fruits of righteousness 
which are by Jesus Christ. 

670
00:33:13,680 --> 00:33:15,280
I should pray that I'll be 
filled with the fruits of 

671
00:33:15,280 --> 00:33:17,880
righteousness. 
Today people ask, is it popular?

672
00:33:18,960 --> 00:33:21,800
Doesn't make me feel good. 
Is it the easiest way out? 

673
00:33:22,080 --> 00:33:23,800
Are what? 
What are what we should be 

674
00:33:23,800 --> 00:33:27,120
asking Is, is it right? 
Is it right? 

675
00:33:27,680 --> 00:33:30,440
Not Is it popular? 
So many Christians, so many 

676
00:33:30,440 --> 00:33:32,840
churches are doing the popular 
thing today. 

677
00:33:33,480 --> 00:33:36,360
But is it right? 
Does it please God? 

678
00:33:36,760 --> 00:33:40,040
Is it a fruit of righteousness? 
A Christian who is filled with 

679
00:33:40,040 --> 00:33:43,000
the fruits of righteousness is 
good and does good. 

680
00:33:43,370 --> 00:33:46,810
We get scared of that term being
good because we think it, you 

681
00:33:46,810 --> 00:33:50,970
know, we we associate it with 
Catholic or Lutheran or or 

682
00:33:51,050 --> 00:33:53,970
Methodist or whatever else where
you have to be good in order to 

683
00:33:53,970 --> 00:33:56,890
be saved. 
No, the Bible says Jesus went 

684
00:33:56,890 --> 00:34:00,210
about doing good. 
As Christians, we ought to be 

685
00:34:00,210 --> 00:34:03,650
good, and if we're filled with 
righteousness, the fruits of 

686
00:34:03,650 --> 00:34:06,290
righteousness, we will be good 
and we will do good. 

687
00:34:07,010 --> 00:34:09,050
A genuine Christian is going to 
bear fruit. 

688
00:34:09,050 --> 00:34:11,449
You're going to see souls saved.
You're going to show the fruit 

689
00:34:11,449 --> 00:34:13,340
of the Spirit in your life. 
You're going to. 

690
00:34:13,540 --> 00:34:15,620
See the consequences of doing 
right. 

691
00:34:16,460 --> 00:34:19,139
We should pray to live in such a
way that these, these wonderful 

692
00:34:19,139 --> 00:34:23,300
blessings would would absolutely
fill our lives and overflow from

693
00:34:23,300 --> 00:34:26,900
us to others. 
And then let me give you this as

694
00:34:26,900 --> 00:34:29,020
the last thing that Paul says we
ought to be praying for. 

695
00:34:29,820 --> 00:34:31,420
I should pray that my love would
grow. 

696
00:34:32,219 --> 00:34:34,780
I should pray that I would know 
and discern what to love. 

697
00:34:34,780 --> 00:34:36,940
That I would learn how to love. 
That I would approve things that

698
00:34:36,940 --> 00:34:39,820
are not just good but excellent.
That I would be sincere and 

699
00:34:39,820 --> 00:34:41,139
genuine. 
That I would not be an offense 

700
00:34:41,139 --> 00:34:43,750
to others. 
Lastly, he said I should pray 

701
00:34:44,230 --> 00:34:47,949
that all of this would make God 
look good, and I don't mean that

702
00:34:47,949 --> 00:34:49,790
in a in a way to to bring him 
down. 

703
00:34:49,790 --> 00:34:51,030
But he says this at the very 
end. 

704
00:34:51,030 --> 00:34:56,989
There all of those things unto 
the glory and praise of God. 

705
00:34:58,390 --> 00:35:02,190
The goodness that's the hallmark
of the true Christian is that 

706
00:35:02,190 --> 00:35:04,910
everything we do should not be 
to lift us up. 

707
00:35:05,750 --> 00:35:07,070
It should not be for the sake 
of. 

708
00:35:07,270 --> 00:35:10,390
Well, look what I do in my life.
It shouldn't be for the sake of,

709
00:35:11,050 --> 00:35:13,930
well, our church. 
Should be the sake for the sake 

710
00:35:13,930 --> 00:35:17,770
of bringing glory and honor to 
Jesus Christ. 

711
00:35:18,410 --> 00:35:21,610
Almost every Sunday morning I 
pray that that everything we do 

712
00:35:21,850 --> 00:35:24,090
would lift up the name of Jesus 
Christ, that it would bring 

713
00:35:24,090 --> 00:35:26,730
glory to him, That he would be 
pleased by what we're doing in 

714
00:35:26,730 --> 00:35:29,890
the service. 
Because everything that we do 

715
00:35:29,930 --> 00:35:32,490
ought to be doing that, or we're
doing it for the wrong reason. 

716
00:35:33,420 --> 00:35:35,660
If we're doing it because we're 
trying to lift ourselves up, or 

717
00:35:35,660 --> 00:35:37,420
if we're doing it because we're 
trying to make ourselves feel 

718
00:35:37,420 --> 00:35:39,980
better, or whatever else, we're 
doing it for the wrong reason 

719
00:35:39,980 --> 00:35:43,340
and God is not pleased by that. 
God's not glorified by that, and

720
00:35:43,340 --> 00:35:46,820
it all counts for nothing if 
he's not glorified. 

721
00:35:47,820 --> 00:35:49,580
Christian doesn't do good works 
to. 

722
00:35:49,580 --> 00:35:52,500
Earn salvation. 
It's not to earn merits with 

723
00:35:52,500 --> 00:35:54,380
God. 
It's not to earn the applause of

724
00:35:54,380 --> 00:35:55,980
the approval of men. 
And not just. 

725
00:35:56,460 --> 00:35:58,220
It's not just to follow our 
conscience. 

726
00:35:58,220 --> 00:36:02,810
Our motivation ought to be for 
the praise and the glory and the

727
00:36:02,810 --> 00:36:28,010
honor of God. 
Everything we do should be done 

728
00:36:28,010 --> 00:36:06,010
with the mindset that we. 
He's the King of Kings. 

729
00:36:06,010 --> 00:36:09,450
He's the Lord of Lords. 
We serve a wonderful, great God,

730
00:36:09,450 --> 00:36:11,690
and everything that we do ought 
to be to lift him up. 

731
00:36:11,690 --> 00:36:14,690
That was the testimony of Jesus.
God's name is glorified when 

732
00:36:14,690 --> 00:36:17,330
Christians do things that 
reflect his character. 

733
00:36:18,210 --> 00:36:22,890
His name is defamed when those 
who profess to be saved do 

734
00:36:22,890 --> 00:36:26,010
things that are unethical and 
moral and considerate. 

735
00:36:29,670 --> 00:36:34,590
Want to glorify God? 
And if you would ask yourself 

736
00:36:34,590 --> 00:36:39,110
that question before you do 
anything, does this glorify God?

737
00:36:39,870 --> 00:36:41,110
It would change the way you 
live? 

738
00:36:42,510 --> 00:36:45,670
Does this glorify God? 
And if you have to say, well, I 

739
00:36:46,350 --> 00:36:50,750
don't know if this would really 
glorify God, hey, could Jesus 

740
00:36:50,750 --> 00:36:54,470
Christ sit there with you while 
you're doing it? 

741
00:36:58,940 --> 00:37:00,900
That'll tell you if it brings 
glory to him or not. 

742
00:37:02,340 --> 00:37:04,460
If he couldn't sit there with 
you while you're doing it, or 

743
00:37:04,460 --> 00:37:08,140
walk there with you when you're 
going there, or do that activity

744
00:37:08,140 --> 00:37:11,620
with you while you're doing it, 
then it's probably not bringing 

745
00:37:11,620 --> 00:37:15,420
glory to God. 
And if we would focus everything

746
00:37:15,420 --> 00:37:18,700
through that mindset, it would 
change everything about the way 

747
00:37:18,700 --> 00:37:22,500
we live. 
Does it bring glory to God? 

748
00:37:23,020 --> 00:37:25,380
Everything we should do should 
be done with that mindset. 

749
00:37:25,380 --> 00:37:27,980
We want to glorify him. 
I want him. 

750
00:37:28,460 --> 00:37:30,620
I want him to be reflected in my
life. 

751
00:37:31,740 --> 00:37:35,140
See, that's all we are. 
We're just reflectors, right? 

752
00:37:35,420 --> 00:37:41,140
The glory of God to me, to 
others, right. 

753
00:37:42,460 --> 00:37:44,700
They don't see me. 
I I'm just the mirror. 

754
00:37:45,740 --> 00:37:48,300
Right. 
When you look into a mirror and 

755
00:37:48,300 --> 00:37:52,020
and and you, you, if you were to
take, let's say I had Alex 

756
00:37:52,020 --> 00:37:53,540
standing right up here, all 
right? 

757
00:37:53,540 --> 00:37:55,820
And he was standing this way 
facing this mirror. 

758
00:37:55,820 --> 00:37:57,300
And I had this mirror pointed 
that way. 

759
00:37:57,300 --> 00:37:59,650
Are you going to see me? 
Are you going to see Alex in 

760
00:37:59,650 --> 00:38:01,850
that mirror? 
You would see him. 

761
00:38:01,850 --> 00:38:05,850
And that's exactly the way that 
that God expects to work through

762
00:38:05,850 --> 00:38:07,730
our lives. 
It's not me. 

763
00:38:08,650 --> 00:38:12,050
It's him through me. 
And if it's anything but that, 

764
00:38:12,050 --> 00:38:13,490
then I'm not bringing glory to 
him. 

765
00:38:14,250 --> 00:38:17,850
I'm bringing glory to me. 
If it's all about me being 

766
00:38:17,850 --> 00:38:21,970
lifted up, then we're missing 
the point and I should. 

767
00:38:21,970 --> 00:38:25,570
Pray that everything I do would 
bring glory unto God. 

768
00:38:26,860 --> 00:38:29,060
You can sit here and listen to 
this, nod your head and forget, 

769
00:38:29,060 --> 00:38:30,820
or you can start praying this 
prayer for yourself. 

770
00:38:31,700 --> 00:38:33,860
I quoted Charles Spurgeon at the
beginning and I'll quote him 

771
00:38:33,860 --> 00:38:35,460
again, he said. 
If you're sure it's a right 

772
00:38:35,460 --> 00:38:37,660
thing for what you're asking, 
plead now. 

773
00:38:37,980 --> 00:38:39,940
Plead at noon. 
Plead at night. 

774
00:38:40,250 --> 00:38:42,970
Plead on with cries and tears. 
Spread out your case. 

775
00:38:42,970 --> 00:38:45,890
Order your arguments. 
Back up your pleas with reasons.

776
00:38:46,050 --> 00:38:47,850
Urge the precious blood of 
Jesus. 

777
00:38:47,970 --> 00:38:50,690
Set the wounds of Christ before 
the Father's eyes. 

778
00:38:50,890 --> 00:38:54,130
Bring out the atoning sacrifice 
point to Calvary and. 

779
00:38:54,130 --> 00:38:56,930
List the crowned Prince, the 
priest who stands at the right 

780
00:38:56,930 --> 00:39:00,170
hand of God and resolve, and 
your very soul, that if souls be

781
00:39:00,170 --> 00:39:03,850
not saved, if your family be not
blessed, if your own zeal be not

782
00:39:03,850 --> 00:39:07,530
revived, you will die with the 
plea on your lips and with the 

783
00:39:07,530 --> 00:39:09,730
importunate wish on your 
spirits. 

784
00:39:12,290 --> 00:39:15,210
I should pray, as the Apostle 
Paul prayed for them. 

785
00:39:15,690 --> 00:39:19,490
That my love would grow. 
That I would know and discern 

786
00:39:19,490 --> 00:39:21,530
what to love. 
That I would learn how to love. 

787
00:39:21,730 --> 00:39:25,010
That I would approve things that
are not just good but excellent.

788
00:39:25,610 --> 00:39:27,130
That I would be sincere and 
genuine. 

789
00:39:27,130 --> 00:39:29,490
That I would not be an offense 
to others, And that everything I

790
00:39:29,490 --> 00:39:34,890
do above everything else would 
bring praise and glory and honor

791
00:39:36,090 --> 00:39:41,160
to God Only then. 
Only then will we see God's 

792
00:39:41,160 --> 00:39:44,760
blessing on our lives. 
I don't think there's anybody in

793
00:39:44,760 --> 00:39:46,960
here that don't that would say 
they don't want to see God's 

794
00:39:46,960 --> 00:39:49,200
blessing. 
All of us want to see God's 

795
00:39:49,200 --> 00:39:52,160
blessing in our lives. 
But it takes work. 

796
00:39:52,160 --> 00:39:57,680
It takes it takes dedication. 
It takes it takes that prayer. 

797
00:39:58,000 --> 00:40:00,880
It takes the prayer that the 
Apostle Paul prayed for those 

798
00:40:00,880 --> 00:40:04,800
Philippians praying that for 
myself, God, I want to be what 

799
00:40:04,800 --> 00:40:07,400
you want me to be. 
God, I want you to do what you 

800
00:40:07,400 --> 00:40:09,950
want me to do. 
God, I want to bring glory to 

801
00:40:09,950 --> 00:40:13,550
you through my life. 
And when we get to that point 

802
00:40:13,550 --> 00:40:16,270
where we're willing to pray 
those prayers, they're hard 

803
00:40:16,270 --> 00:40:18,870
prayers to pray. 
But when we're willing to pray 

804
00:40:18,870 --> 00:40:23,550
those prayers, God will answer. 
And you'll see God move in your 

805
00:40:23,550 --> 00:40:28,830
life in a mighty way. 
You'll see God do things through

806
00:40:28,830 --> 00:40:30,950
your life that you never thought
he'd be able to do. 

807
00:40:31,830 --> 00:40:34,390
You'll see God accomplish things
through you that you've never 

808
00:40:34,390 --> 00:40:35,790
thought you would be able to 
accomplish. 

809
00:40:35,790 --> 00:40:38,630
Not because I just, I've been 
wanting to accomplish that 

810
00:40:38,630 --> 00:40:40,870
always. 
But I'm trying to bring glory to

811
00:40:40,870 --> 00:40:43,030
God. 
And you know what God's looking 

812
00:40:43,030 --> 00:40:45,510
for? 
God's looking for a vessel that 

813
00:40:45,510 --> 00:40:48,270
he can fill that will be a 
reflection of him. 

814
00:40:51,590 --> 00:40:53,310
Are you willing to pray that 
this morning? 

815
00:40:54,470 --> 00:40:56,670
That's what he wants to do. 
That's what he wants us to do. 

816
00:40:57,750 --> 00:41:00,150
And what a great I hope you'll 
go back and read this, read this

817
00:41:00,150 --> 00:41:03,550
prayer of the Apostle Paul this 
week and be reminded. 

818
00:41:04,150 --> 00:41:07,760
I need to pray for these things 
for myself if I want to be what 

819
00:41:07,760 --> 00:41:10,440
God wants me to be. 
And I've got to do it. 

820
00:41:11,120 --> 00:41:12,560
I've got to be serious about 
doing it. 

821
00:41:13,200 --> 00:41:16,760
I've got to get into that deep 
relationship with Christ through

822
00:41:16,760 --> 00:41:18,320
prayer that he wants to have 
with me. 

823
00:41:19,560 --> 00:41:20,600
Let's pray. 
Father, we love you. 

824
00:41:20,600 --> 00:41:21,640
Give me. 
Thank you so much for your 

825
00:41:21,640 --> 00:41:25,080
goodness to us. 
Thank you for an opportunity we 

826
00:41:25,080 --> 00:41:29,520
have to open your word. 
And God, I pray that these that 

827
00:41:29,520 --> 00:41:33,760
this message would be received 
in the in the the heart and the 

828
00:41:33,760 --> 00:41:37,020
intention that it was given. 
God, I believe it's a message 

829
00:41:37,020 --> 00:41:38,940
that you laid in my heart. 
But it's that we find this 

830
00:41:38,940 --> 00:41:41,700
directly in the word of God. 
And I don't want to be an 

831
00:41:41,700 --> 00:41:46,020
offense to anyone but God. 
Where the Word of God pricks our

832
00:41:46,020 --> 00:41:48,940
hearts and where the Word of God
points things out that we need 

833
00:41:48,940 --> 00:41:49,820
to change. 
God. 

834
00:41:49,820 --> 00:41:51,620
I pray that we'd be willing to 
do it. 

835
00:41:53,060 --> 00:41:55,700
I pray that we wouldn't push 
back against the things that you

836
00:41:55,700 --> 00:41:58,820
want us to do. 
You promise that you'll bless us

837
00:41:58,820 --> 00:42:01,620
if we'd live for you if we do 
these things, if we follow after

838
00:42:01,620 --> 00:42:04,950
righteousness. 
So God, I praise you, give us 

839
00:42:04,950 --> 00:42:08,670
that greater burden to do that. 
Well, thank you for what you do 

840
00:42:08,790 --> 00:42:10,230
this morning. 
In Jesus name. 

841
00:42:10,390 --> 00:42:10,830
Amen. 
If you.